Rate My Professor Danny McAuley

Professor Danny McAuley is Clinical Professor of Intensive Care Medicine in the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen's University Belfast, affiliated with the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, and serves as Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. He holds prominent leadership positions, including Co-Director of Research for the UK Intensive Care Society, clinical lead for the Northern Ireland Clinical Research Network in Critical Care, NIHR Senior Investigator, member of the NIHR Strategy and Engagement Board, and Scientific Director for NIHR Programmes on the NIHR Board. In 2019, he was appointed Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme Director at the National Institute for Health Research, overseeing funding for translational research. Elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2021, Professor McAuley was recognized for his sustained excellence in advancing medical science, particularly in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and acute respiratory failure over two decades.

His research specializes in ARDS, encompassing investigation of novel therapeutic agents such as mesenchymal stem cells, statins, extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal, aspirin, oncostatin M, and anti-microbial peptides through in vitro, in vivo human models, and phase 2 clinical trials. He pioneered patient stratification strategies in ARDS and explores sepsis diagnostics, delirium in critical illness, nosocomial infections, and interventions to improve recovery from critical illness. Professor McAuley has led high-impact international trials, including REALIST-COVID assessing mesenchymal stem cells in COVID-19 ARDS and RECOVERY-Respiratory Support. Notable publications include 'Development and validation of parsimonious algorithms to classify phenotypes of acute respiratory distress syndrome: a secondary analysis of randomised controlled trials' (The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 2020), 'Simvastatin in the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome' (New England Journal of Medicine, 2014), 'Subphenotypes in acute respiratory distress syndrome: translation into clinical practice' (The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 2020), 'Greater recovery after critical illness (GRACE): a call to action to create a new roadmap for critical illness research' (Thorax, 2026), and 'Biofilm communities above and below the cuff of endotracheal tubes are spatially homogenous' (Respiratory Research, 2026). He contributes as a peer reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine, mentors PhD students, and drives translational research to enhance critical care outcomes.